Music & Culture

Classical Music Posts

"I just wanted to try and fulfill the potential of all these ideas I had on the album, and it took me a really long time to get there," Khushi says. CREDIT: Parsons/Courtesy of the artist

10 Years, One Shed: Building A Meticulous Musician’s Debut With Kalim ‘Khushi’ Patel

NPR News January 10, 2020

“I’m a combination of a perfectionist and a snail,” Khushi jokes. It took him 10 years to write Strange Seasons, which he ended up recording in a shed over the course of six years. Continue Reading 10 Years, One Shed: Building A Meticulous Musician’s Debut With Kalim ‘Khushi’ Patel

The Brazilian musician Sergio Mendes says that Guinga's melodies are incredible. "They're unique; they're different," he says. Manfred Pollert/Courtesy of the artist

The Unusually Modest Guinga: A Brazilian Guitarist Beloved By Musicians Around The World

NPR News January 5, 2020

As a composer, Guinga’s written hits for Brazilian superstars like Elis Regina. As a musician he’s set the bar for classical guitarists far beyond his native country. Continue Reading The Unusually Modest Guinga: A Brazilian Guitarist Beloved By Musicians Around The World

Spanglish Fly performs at a Tiny Desk Concert on Sept. 9, 2019. CREDIT: Emily Bogle/NPR

Spanglish Fly Plays From The Heart, Engages Mind And Body With Tiny Desk Concert

NPR News January 4, 2020

Spanglish Fly is one of the pioneers of the boogaloo revival scene happening on the East Coast. For about sixteen minutes, they turned the NPR Music offices into the hottest Latin dance club in D.C. Continue Reading Spanglish Fly Plays From The Heart, Engages Mind And Body With Tiny Desk Concert

The Mid-Columbia Mastersingers will hold three performances of “American Dreamers,” a presentation of work written by composers who are also immigrants to the U.S., on January 10, 11 and 12. CREDIT: Enrique Pérez de la Rosa/NWPB

Tri-Cities Concerts Go Beyond Politics To Highlight Lives Of DACA Recipients

Enrique Pérez de la Rosa January 2, 2020

Daniela Medina is a first-grade teacher in the Kennewick School District — at the same school she found herself in at age six when she and her family immigrated to Washington from Mexico in 2001. The Mid-Columbia Mastersingers are holding concerts January 10, 11 and 12 of music by immigrant composers to tell the stories behind the politics. Continue Reading Tri-Cities Concerts Go Beyond Politics To Highlight Lives Of DACA Recipients

Cecilia Bartoli (left) and Adrianne Lenker of the band Big Thief (right)

One Big Breath And A Blazing Guitar: 2019’s Best Moments In Music

NPR News January 2, 2020

NPR Music staffers Marissa Lorusso and Tom Huizenga give out superlatives for the best moments in music this past year, including a single breath of operatic singing and an epic guitar solo. Continue Reading One Big Breath And A Blazing Guitar: 2019’s Best Moments In Music

Jenee Fleenor at the 53rd annual CMA Awards on Nov. 13, 2019 in Nashville, Tenn., where she was honored as the first woman to win Musician of the Year. Leah Puttkammer/Getty Images

The Woman Leading The Fiddle Revival In Country Music

NPR News December 31, 2019

Fiddler Jenee Fleenor is the first woman ever to win the Country Music Association’s Musician of the Year Award. Her work is partly responsible for the instrument’s resurgence. Continue Reading The Woman Leading The Fiddle Revival In Country Music